What Women Want and What Axe Thinks We want

So what do women REALLY want? 

In an attempt to somewhat back off of sexist, overly sensual advertising, Axe has only gone back to the same old marketing techniques of objectifying women and making sexist assumptions about men and women's desires. 

In this ad titled "Office Love", a man and women interact shyly at an office and wind up on a street corner eyeing eachother once the bus obstructing their view finally drives away. Axe, however, takes this cliche plot even further by representing the man as a bodiless head of hair, and the woman a headless pair of breasts. Only when they finally make eye contact at the end, do the two people finally become real people.

In numerous other ads by Axe, they have targeted male consumers by leading them to believe that women want what Axe can offer. In an early advertisement by Axe, they created "Pitman", the bodiless arm pit that women loved because of the Axe antiperspirant. In "Office Love", marketers not only objectify women making them nothing more that their desirable lady parts, but also dumb down men making the claim that men are only attracted to women by their breasts. 

So ladies and gentlemen, take a stand because I can tell you right now, "What girls see first" is not always a guy's messy, overly-perfumed, Axed hair and I'm sure men see more than just women's breasts. Or maybe not because they DO refer to their consumers as little "boys and girls". You rock Kevin McKeon, way to belittle and objectify your own target consumers. 

"There was a time when a deodorant was just a deodorant. Then came Axe Deodorant Body Spray, spray it on, girls go wild."-Kevin McKeon

Gay families too saucy for Barilla

Gay rights and pasta. My two favorite things!

Inspired by Doris' post, I thought I'd expand a little on what's going on with all the "gay" pasta ads on the Internet.

Last week, Guido Barilla, chairman of Barilla Pasta, made some horrifically homophobic and sexist remarks that sparked a worldwide boycott of the Barilla company by the LGBTQ community. Guido tried to issue an apology, but instead he wound up saying that he has never actually discriminated against anyone. Except refusing to represent non-straight couples in your advertising because you 'disagree with their choices' is, you know, discrimination.

This coaxed a bunch of other pasta companies to come forward and do what Barilla was too conservative to do: represent non-straight families in their advertising. My favorite so far is the Bertolli ad above, because of its creatively simplistic way of demonstrating diverse family dynamics. While the debate surrounding non-heterosexual marriage is more complicated and nuanced than this, the ad does argue something essential: families aren't always man-woman, pink-blue, A-B. This simple ad challenges the simplified binary that most of us absorbed in preschool.

Especially notable are the two bowtie pastas with the little penne baby, especially since Guido also came out against the right for gay couples to adopt.

I have to wonder if these other pasta companies would have ever represented family diversity in their advertising were it not for the sake of competing with Barilla. Barilla, after all, dominates 25% of the US pasta market and between 40 and 45% of Italy's. It's certainly nice to see gay couples represented, but I can't help but feel that it's motivated more by cashing in on the Barilla boycott than an actual interest in equal representation.

But like in most situations involving discrimination and privilege, intent is pretty much irrelevant. Regardless of who's making money, what ultimately matters is that "non-traditional" families are being represented in a positive, inclusive light. As someone who comes from one of those non-traditional families, I don't feel exploited by these ads. I feel empowered.

Take my money, Bertolli!



Image source: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/09/30/2698641/barilla-pasta-non-apology/

Pasta is also accepting?

So I was scrolling through my Youtube page, and this ad came up. I clicked on because I was hungry at the time and also because I love pasta. I pressed play and then I was confused as to what was going on because at the start, the film is in color and then it goes to black and white. In my head, I thought, "oh maybe its like the romantic french films, where the guy falls in the love with the girl". So in my head I already had a guess as to what the commercial was going to be about, until I got to the end and I was proved wrong. The romantic french film that I thought it was gonna see didn't happen, rather it was a romantic gay film. I was shocked. I had never seen a gay commercial in my life. So all these questions began to come to mind, like " was this allowed to be on TV?" "what did people think" "why is a pasta company coming up with such ad?". But then I settled to another idea, I realized that in my brain, it was already set what I thought I was gonna see and then was completely shocked to see the outcome. Kudos to them for doing something different. It surely left an impression on me and now I will remember this pasta brand. I do not know if that was the company's intention but it surely made me remember them.

Unwrap your voice!

Unwrap your voice!

  I laughed a lot when I first saw the advertisement of the throat lozenges. The singers’ throats are so tightly wrapped that they feel so painful but could not sing a single note, and only if people unwrap the package and eat it can the singer sing their beautiful songs again.

  This advertisement is so vividly presented, and it gives me an image of how singers are released by unwrapping and eating the lozenges. The advertisement urged people to open the package and eat the candy to help the singers, and I have to say that this advertisement is so smart in attracting consumers because the singers’ fans are reluctant to see their idols struggle because of wrapped throats and would buy the lozenges without hesitation.

  Also, I think this advertisement also implies that if you want to sing as beautifully as these famous singers on package, eat the lozenges!!! They will help release your beautiful voice, and I would like to have a try if that  does happen.

How advertisers pretend to be on the consumers side, when they truly aren't !,

I was truly thrown back when I came across this makeup advertisement in one of the magazines in our lounge. The lines: "New Revlon Nearly Naked- Makeup. Get noticed for your skin not your makeup" made me question why Revlon would sell and advertise makeup at all if they encourage more of a  "natural" look.

 My understanding of the line "Get noticed for your skin not your makeup" suggests that the ad supports ones face with no chemical enhancements at all. Why then would a makeup ads use such a line to sell these "enhancers"? Because they are smart! Advertisers have figured out that by picking the right phrases and words, they can sell us anything. Every female, and everyone who is trying to sell to a female, knows how much we spend to "fit into" certain groups in society and how guilty we feel after spending money on things we don't need. Hence, with the correct words, advertisers are able to console females by convincing us of how worthy of our money their product is. In the case of this add, women are told  that they will be noticed for "their skin" not their makeup, which is ironic considering that this is a makeup advertisement. This does not discourage women from wearing makeup ,and embracing their natural skin. Instead, it encourages them to wear makeup by convincing them of just how"light" it is and that no one will know hey have makeup on but them. This sells the idea that is women who buy this makeup will not be conforming to the societal norms (trying to be beautiful in order to feel as though they are a part of society) When they truly will be doing so.

The rest of the text on the advertisement reads: "Introducing the latest breakthrough in makeup. Formulated with weightless pigments, this refreshingly light formula melts right in, creating a fresh, even complexion. with build able coverage and seamless blending it works in harmony with your skin to cover flaws and perfect tone and texture

Emma stone wears Revlon Nearly Naked in Vanilla "

Sources:

http://www.celebrityendorsementads.com/celebrity-endorsements/celebrities/emma-stone/revlon-nearly-naked-makeup/

Harmless Product Placement

For a few moments during the new Cher Lloyd music video, I wasn't sure if I was watching a pop star or a phone advertisement (around 1:45). Product placement has become more prevalent with the new internet culture, and even simple things like music videos can also double as a place to sell products. It used to be humorous to find the product placement in movies. Most shots of popular brands end up looking awkward and out of place. But now it's so common that the viewer isn't even sure that they're being sold something. Often times, the use of this technique is effective in selling a lifestyle. Cher's use of the Sony phone is very obvious, but there's no doubt that if you have that phone it's possible to be a beautiful woman in the club as well. Subtlety is not a factor when trying to squeeze in a clear shot of a product, they want to show off as much as possible.

Is all this sneaking advertising the ultimate evil? I say no. I'd happily sit through a few seconds of Scarlett Johansson drinking out of a Coke can if that means my ticket price stays the same. It's understandable that my favorite band posts pictures on Instagram using their brand new Canon camera. In fact, product placement benefits me by keeping prices on media lower than it could be. I find product placement to be comical and harmless: while it does routinely take away from artistic integrity, it also gives the creators of the media everyone depends on much more freedom.

The Dog Strikes Back

This is an ad my friend mentioned to me. When I first saw this ad, I though it was just another ad that used a cute dog’s behavior to imply the relationship between the vehicle and the family. However, things went to a totally different direction at the end of the ad – It was an ad in an ad. The inside ad was shown on a screen of the pub at where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan met Han Solo and Chwebacca for the first time. -- It was a modern VW ad in an old movie, and the old movie scenery was in a real VW ad. If you type “VW ad Star Wars” to find videos in Youtube, The Dog Strikes Back isn’t the only one ad. It seems that VW likes making ads related to Star Wars.

Big corporations like this method: to find, or we should say “make”, connection between consumers and their brands. Science fiction movies in 1970s almost have nothing in common with a modern automobile company, but VW tried to impress people who have appreciated the movies. The ads gave people a chance to review the time they spent on those fascinating movies. Though there are not many consumers are willing to buy a car just because of an ad that they are familiar with, VW successfully showed audience its friendly appearance.

Selling Clothes With Softcore Porn

Many companies use sexual images to sell their products. Walk into Abercrombie and Fitch, and you’ll be bombarded with images of men with six-pack abs wearing incredibly low-rise jeans. Fashion magazines are full of ads featuring beautiful models passionately embracing attractive men. But these ads are nowhere near as suggestive and downright creepy as American Apparel ads.

                A typical American Apparel ad has a woman wearing little clothing in various sexually suggestive positions. Many of the models are just girls that Dov Charney, the CEO who does most of the photography himself, picks up off the street. This is especially disturbing when you take into account all the times the Charney has been accused of sexual harassment and even rape by his female employees.

                The ads I’ve included here are relatively tame compared to many of the company's others, but they still give off amateur-porn vibes. The photos in both of these ads look like they were taken while the model was having sex with the photographer; they are poorly lit and don’t look like they’ve been staged. What are they supposed to be selling? The girl on the left is wearing a white tank top, but the focus is definitely not on the clothes. In the ad on the right, what the model is wearing is a complete mystery. In fact, Dov Charney’s face is more visible than the clothing. The true purpose of these ads is probably shock value—by having controversial ads, American Apparel gets people talking about the company and remembering their name.

                The one positive aspect of American Apparel ads is that they aren’t retouched, so the women in them actually look like normal people, which is a refreshing change from the airbrushed photos in almost every other ad. Photoshopped images in magazines make so many people feel like they aren’t good enough because they don’t meet the impossible standards of beauty put forth by the media. Women in American Apparel ads have scars, stretch marks, body hair, and other “imperfections,” which I really like. However, due to their general creepiness, these ads still certainly don’t make me want to go to American Apparel.

Skittles Advertisements

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywTgLeb4458

While having a conversation with my 3-year-old little cousin I asked her, what was her favorite candy?  She responded that skittles. Then I asked her “why skittles?” And with a very enthusiastic face she said, “ Because I can taste the rainbow”.

After hearing my little cousin response I laughed because she is too young to realize that is just a lie. However, as the day went bye I couldn’t get over the idea of what my little cousin believed. If little kids believe that by eating skittles they eating the “rainbow” that means that the industries are achieving their goal of manipulating consumers.

Sometimes when I see commercials that are too fictional I feel sad for the industries because I doubt an adult is going to believe their ads. However, after having the skittles conversation with my little cousin I realized that advertisements are no longer for adults but instead for children. It is upsetting what industries are doing in order to sale their products. Taking advantage of children innocence is just not morally correct.

Same Love

Love comes in all forms.

I love this ad. The happiness on their faces is contagious. People will sign up for Target’s wedding registry for a piece of that glee.

Target appeals to a mass market across the country, but this campaign reaches further. This image tugs at the heartstrings of people who support homosexual rights in America. Who can’t believe this love is real after seeing the smiles on their faces?

The latest poll in America stated that still 44% of people oppose gay marriage, even though over a dozen states now legally support it. There are more than half a million homosexual couples in the country, and many of them still cannot get equality in many facets of their lives.

In the hit song ‘Same Love’, Macklemore takes a stand for gay rights and marriage equality. He declares, “ … a certificate on paper isn’t going to solve it all, but it’s a damn good place to start.

The image above makes me smile every time I look at it. If I ever decide to get married, I will force my future husband to spend hours perusing Target’s vast collection of wedding gifts. Target has my business because of where they stand in American politics and, more importantly, human rights.

Support love in all its forms. 

This ad is from:    http://global.networldalliance.com/new/images/blogs/target_ad.jpg

Calorie Counting

Calorie Counting

At lunch, my friend asked me “how much soup do you think I just ate?” while on her iPhone. I answered with confusion: “1 bowl?” and she said “no, that’s not a measurement, like how many cups?”

I then realized that she was counting her calories. I asked her why and that’s when she answered, “Because I’m fat”

As I am eating my milk chocolate m&m’s –reads nutrition label- and just consumed about 150 calories…

I’ve heard of this “calorie-counting app” before but I’ve never actually thought about the concept and why there is such a thing. I understand that people want to lose weight to look not “fat” but this is somewhat of an extreme don’t you think? Limiting the amount of calories we consume in a day.

We naturally know when we’re hungry or full or neither. Our bodies tell us when to eat and when to stop. The choices we make in foods differ from one another and that’s on us. I agree to eating healthy but not eating with limits. The amount of calories you consume a day shouldn’t matter as much as your health--having a balanced diet and exercising. Calorie counting is just a set limitation on how to live [eat] your life. Eating is a marvelous thing to do and we shouldn’t feel guilty for consuming more than a set limit of 1,200 calories. Calorie counting sucks. AND it’s a waste of time. AND requires use of brain activity to think about how many cups/servings you’ve eaten! So save your brain cells, save a minute every meal and eat up.

Brittany, who is a calorie counter read a blog on dietdoctor.com, agreed. These are parts of her opinion on the matter.

“Counting calories is so artificial and so far removed from the direction I was trying to take my life. I stopped at the beginning of this month and I enjoy my food more. I feel less neurotic about tracking macronutrient ratios (just keeping my carbohydrate intake in check, which comes naturally now) and don’t feel pressured to eat more/less to hit my “calorie goal”. We’ve got built in calorie counters! We just have to tune into our natural way of eating and things will right themselves.”

Source: http://www.dietdoctor.com/why-calorie-counting-is-an-eating-disorder